


Nobly Save or Meanly Lose

by Batsutousai



Series: Overprotective Criminals 'Verse [5]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Bigotry & Prejudice, Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, Gen, Identity Reveal, Multi, Original Character(s), Polyamorous Character, Racism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-18 04:30:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11866746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Batsutousai/pseuds/Batsutousai
Summary: Five times Barry Allen helps out other metahumans while out of costume, and one time he helps them as the Flash.





	1. 1 - Angel's Wings

**Author's Note:**

> I started and binned the start of this fic a half-dozen times, ugh. It's a bit OC-heavy, sorry, because most of the canon metas are either enemies of the Flash, or else we've already met them as part of Barry's team.
> 
> The timeline stretches through the first season of the show, and into the potential start of the second; Wellsobard's will is brought up, but it can be assumed that was opened sooner than in canon, as Barry doesn't avoid everyone, legal attorneys included, once Len and Mick get him back to Central in this AU.
> 
> As a head's up, unlike the rest of this fic, the +1 is third person omniscient, because I wanted to be able to explain why the OCs react the way they do.
> 
> With thanks, as ever, to my lovely beta reader and cheering squad, StillNotGinger10.
> 
> You can also read this at [Dreamwidth](https://batsutousai.dreamwidth.org/382304.html) or [LiveJournal](http://batsutousai.livejournal.com/383822.html).  
> Cover on [tumblr (as a batch)](http://batsutousai.tumblr.com/post/169502737564/instead-of-doing-anything-productive-last) and [deviantArt](https://batsutousai.deviantart.com/art/Nobly-Save-or-Meanly-Lose-Fanfic-Cover-727078668).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter follows directly after the events of _A Distraction of Ice and Fire_ (this AU's alternate version of episode 10 _Revenge of the Rogues_ ).  
> It does include an OC being very anti-metahuman, with a side of internalised meta-racism in our titular OC.

It's something of an unspoken rule, among the long-term residents of the streets bordering mob territory, that if you see another resident in trouble with the police or mob, you do what you can to help them out. 

Which, well, Barry can't always involve himself when it's the police, since he wants to keep his job, and he knows enough about his 'neighbors' to step back and let his co-workers do their jobs at least half the time. And, too, once they make it into the precinct, he can't really do a whole lot to help them out. But there have been a couple of times when he's 'accidentally' spilled coffee on a cop just outside the precinct or while waiting for the lift on the ground floor, and the 'neighbor' involved – usually caught shoplifting or pickpocketing, though he's also rescued a couple of working women he met while he was staying in the flat on the edge of the red-light district with Len and Mick – would make a run for it and deal with their handcuffs once they're well away from any police. 

(Becoming the Flash made that unspoken rule a bit more complicated, because part of his job – in costume, at least – was stopping muggings and burglaries, whether they were his 'neighbors' or no. He'd eventually settled on only passing them to the police if a weapon was involved, and taking his time comforting the victim if the criminal was unarmed, which usually gave them time to at least find a hiding place he could 'overlook'. Which, well, he hadn't been called out by his team about letting small-time criminals get away, the handful of times he'd done so while on comms, and he'd never heard it mentioned around the precinct or at Saints and Sinners, so that became his new normal.) 

A couple of days after Len and Mick start playing supervillains, as Barry is walking out of the bullpen after giving Charlie Conwell the lab report for one of his cases – the detective was one of the older set who still preferred paper copies of reports over emailed copies – he happens to see a familiar face being shoved out of the lift. And, for all he'd usually turn away and keep his head down, this 'neighbor' is a _kid_. And, he realizes as he spots the small mottled-brown wings on his back, a metahuman. 

Barry doesn't need to see the way people's faces twist when they notice the wings, or the way the officer holding him is roughly shoving him forward, to know the kid isn't going to get a fair treatment. His stomach churns, because he doesn't know the kid's name, but he knows enough about him to know he's a small-time pickpocket, making just enough to buy himself some real food a couple times a week; he doesn't deserve the shit he's about to get dumped on him for being a metahuman in a city that's only just starting to realize that there are people with powers who want to make things better, instead of worse. 

So Barry swallows down bile and forces a smile onto his face as he steps forward, calling, "Little Birdie! It's a little early for lunch!" 

The kid's head comes up and his eyes go wide as he sees Barry, and Barry can't tell if he's recognized him or thinks he's going to make things worse, and that _aches_.

The cop shoving him along, though, stops and blinks at Barry in what's very obviously confusion. "You know this freak, Allen?" 

The kid flinches, ducking his head down and rounding his shoulders forward, the picture of shame. Even his wings droop, the top edges vanishing behind his shoulders. 

"He's not a _freak_ ," Barry hears himself snap. "He's a _kid_."

"Yeah. With _wings_ ," the officers insists. 

"So _what_?" Barry shoots right back, furious. 

He opens his mouth to continue – and, he'll realize once he's calmed down, probably out himself as the Flash – when Joe says, from behind him, "You gonna be calling the Flash that, Anderson? 'Cause he's got superspeed." 

The officer – Anderson – turns a sickly sort of pale and shakes his head. 

Joe pats Barry's shoulder. "That's what I thought. Now, what's the kid in for?" 

"I–" Anderson looks between Barry and Joe, then down at the kid and doesn't continue. 

"Someone saw his wings and freaked out," Barry guesses. 

"He was panhandling," Anderson says in the same tone Barry and Iris used to use when they knew they were wrong, but were still trying to validify their misbehavior to Joe. (Any more, neither of them bother trying to excuse themselves, just ignore Joe's disapproval as best they can and keep right on.) 

"Uncuff him," Singh orders from somewhere behind Barry, because panhandling isn't a crime. (Neither is being a metahuman, though Barry expects it's going to take a while before the people of Central City actually believe that. Maybe once the Flash becomes less of an urban legend, people will be willing to accept that not all metahumans are looking to use their abilities to commit crimes, like Nimbus and Tony.) 

As soon as the kid is free, he runs to Barry. Whether because he recognizes him or because he knows who his strongest ally is, Barry doesn't really know, and he doesn't particularly care, pulls him into a hug all the same, which the kid returns with a sob that sounds relieved. 

Singh gives him a moment before calling, "Allen." 

Barry swallows and turns to look at his boss, keeping a protective hand on the kid's shoulders. "Captain?" he says, and feels the kid tense and shift like he's trying to hide behind him. 

Singh casts a quick glance at the kid, then focuses on Barry. "Do you know his parents?" 

"Ah, no. I've never met them," Barry says honestly, squeezing the kid's shoulder because he flinches at the mention of parents; he has a sinking suspicion that his parents are very much not in the picture any more. "But he lives in my neighborhood." 

Singh raises an eyebrow at him, and Barry winces, because the address the precinct has on file for him is Joe's. And no way this kid lives in that neighborhood, not if he's begging on the streets. Still, Singh doesn't call him on it, instead saying, "Have a word with his parents; they may not be aware he's spending his days panhandling." 

"Yes, sir." 

Singh nods, then turns and makes a few pointed comments about how there should be work getting done, which scatters most of the gawkers. 

"I've got this, Joe," Barry says before his foster dad can start asking any pointed questions about where he lives or what he's going to do with the kid. 

Joe shoots him a look that says he sees right through him. But he's not going to make a scene in the station – as much as he disapproves of Barry's personal life, he's usually pretty good about keeping that behind closed doors, which Barry appreciates – so he just nods and suggests, "Why don't you take an early lunch, today?" 

"Yeah, I think I will," Barry agrees. Then he ducks his head to try and meet the kid's eyes, which is made more complicated by him hiding tight against Barry's side with his head down. "Hey. Where's your coat?" Because it's way too cold out to be panhandling without a coat. "Or hoodie?" he corrects, because he has a vague recollection of seeing the kid wearing one the few times he's seen him. 

"Gone," the kid whispers, sounding ashamed. 

Barry has a sinking suspicion that the coat or hoodie was lost when his wings were revealed. "Well, I've got an extra up in my lab you can borrow. Okay?" 

The kid looks up at him, then, his brow furrowed with confusion. "Lab? You're not a cop?" 

Barry smiles a bit and shakes his head, even as he starts walking, and his smile widens a bit when the kid walks with him without any fuss. "Nah. I'm a CSI. One of the lab geeks who looks over the evidence found at a crime scene and handles the science side of the investigation." 

"Is it fun?" 

"I think so. But it can be frustrating at times, too. When there's no evidence, or the officers and detectives screw up my samples," he adds a bit drily, because the latter had happened a couple of days ago, and he's still suffering the blame game because some officers can't accept that it was _their_ fault that the sample is completely useless. 

The kid lets out a quiet giggle and straightens a bit. Like he's maybe relaxing in Barry's presence. 

Barry grins at him, pleased, and leads the way into his lab. He makes a beeline for his locker, where he pulls out his coat. "This okay?" he asks, holding it out. 

The kid looks startled, like he hadn't expected Barry to actually give him his coat. (Or, else, he's surprised at how nice it is? It was a gift from Iris a couple years ago, so it looks a little nicer than most of the stuff Barry buys for himself.) He does take it, though, after a moment of hesitation, and pulls it on with careful motions. "It's warm," he says, hugging it around himself. 

"Yeah," Barry agrees, smiling. "It's a good coat. It's not bothering your wings, is it?" Because the kid's pretty thin, but so is Barry, and he doesn't know how much room his wings need. 

The kid sort of ducks his head and shrugs. "Yeah." 

Barry watches him for a moment, looking for any signs that the fit's uncomfortable, because he's spent enough time around people who will just suffer in silence to have a good idea of what to look for. But the kid doesn't shift like it's bothering him, so he nods to himself and pulls out a couple of the many, _many_ S.T.A.R. Labs sweatshirts he has – he keeps forgetting them at home or in his lab and then needing another while he's at S.T.A.R. Labs, which he never thinks to bring back, so he needs another one, and so it goes – to pull on. 

"S.T.A.R. Labs?" the kid asks, sounding disgusted. 

Barry pauses in the act of pulling down the second sweatshirt and blinks down at himself. "Ah." Yeah, he expects most metahumans aren't as cool with the building that made them what they are. And since he doesn't want to explain his particular relationship with the building, he says, "You wouldn't believe how cheap these things are." 

The kids snorts at that and crosses his arms over his chest. "Bet I would." 

Okay, he probably would. Though, given Barry doesn't actually know how much the local thrift shops are giving them away for, he lets the topic alone, instead offering his hand. "I'm Barry, by the way. I've seen you around, but I don't actually know your name." 

The kid blinks a couple times, then reaches out to take his hand and give it a quick shake. "I'm Angel. Are you–? I mean, I didn't know there was a co– a not-cop living..." He trails off with a complicated frown, probably as uncertain what to call their neighborhood as Barry is. Because it's not quite _slums_ , really, because it was originally part of the business district, but it's pretty run-down and abandoned by everyone but the handful of criminals who don't want anything to do with the Families. (The police jokingly refer to it as 'no man's land', while the media's in the habit of calling it some variation on 'the badlands'. The Families, of late, have started to call it 'Cold's territory', from what Barry's heard, and a part of him hopes that catches on.) 

Barry grimaces himself. "I'm living with my boyfriend," he offers as an explanation, because he's not going to be giving any names or discussing criminal histories in the precinct, no matter how sound-proof his lab door is. He shakes his head, then says, "I wasn't actually joking about the lunch, if you want something to eat?" 

Angel startles. "What? I mean, you don't really– You helped me, that's, that's enough, right? You don't have to eat with me." 

Barry frowns, confused by what he'd said. "This isn't a neighborhood obligation," he says, assuming that's where this is coming from; helping each other out with the police is one thing, but buying lunch is a little different for most of the people who live in that area. If only because those who can afford to pay for more than themselves are few and far between. (And almost always wanted by the police for something worse than a bit of pickpocketing.) 

Angel snorts. "Like anyone in the neighborhood would eat with me." He motions to his back, then shrinks in on himself a bit, like he just admitted to something _dirty_.

Barry feels bile climbing his throat again and he _hates_ that the anti-metahuman sentiment in the city is ruining something that should be _awesome_ for this kid. Because, seriously, who wouldn't want wings? Given, they don't look like they're big enough for flight, but they're still _cool_.

(He hates, so much, Nimbus and Tony and Mardon and all the other criminal metahumans who have made having powers or wings a _bad thing_.)

He swallows down a spike of fear and holds out his hand, making it vibrate for a second, just long enough that Angel's eyes go wide with shock. "I'll always eat with you," he promises quietly. 

"You're like me?!" 

"Yeah. Lunch?" 

They do end up going out for lunch together, and Barry picks somewhere relatively nice, but where they won't look at Angel funny when he refuses to take off his coat, because Barry knows that need to keep his metahuman-ness hidden. Barry keeps Angel entertained with stories of police being dumb and the weirdest crime scenes he's been to while they eat. He doesn't ask about where the kid is from or his family, because he suspects those questions won't be met with smiles. 

He walks Angel back to the edge of the neighborhood after lunch, and when Angel makes to take the coat off, Barry touches his shoulder and shakes his head. "Keep it. I'm due for a new one, anyway." He offers a smile. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure my sister, who gave that to me, would really like that it's gone to someone who'll appreciate it." 

Angel hugs the coat around himself again, like Barry's seen him do half a dozen or so times since he first put it on. "You sure?" 

"Absolutely," Barry promises, then waves for Angel to go on, so he hurries off with a wave. 

On his way back to the precinct, Barry shoots off a text to his boyfriends, so neither of them see Angel wearing the coat and corner him about it. 

And, when he sees Angel in the neighborhood after that, he always smiles and waves. And Angel, looking a little like he can't believe someone's willing to do so, always waves back. And he is always, _always_ wearing Barry's old coat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this fic comes from the closing of Abraham Lincoln's second annual message to congress on 1st December 1862, one month before he signed the Emancipation Proclamation into law:
>
>> 'I do not forget the gravity which should characterize a paper addressed to the Congress of the nation by the Chief Magistrate of the nation, nor do I forget that some of you are my seniors, nor that many of you have more experience than I in the conduct of public affairs. Yet I trust that in view of the great responsibility resting upon me you will perceive no want of respect to yourselves in any undue earnestness I may seem to display.  
> 'Is it doubted, then, that the plan I propose, if adopted, would shorten the war, and thus lessen its expenditure of money and of blood? Is it doubted that it would restore the national authority and national prosperity and perpetuate both indefinitely? Is it doubted that we here--Congress and Executive can secure its adoption? Will not the good people respond to a united and earnest appeal from us? Can we, can they, by any other means so certainly or so speedily assure these vital objects? We can succeed only by concert. It is not "Can any of us imagine better?" but "Can we all do better?" Object whatsoever is possible, still the question recurs, "Can we do better?" The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.  
> 'Fellow-citizens, we can not escape history. We of this Congress and this Administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation. We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We, even we here, hold the power and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave we assure freedom to the free--honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve. **We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth.** Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just--a way which if followed the world will forever applaud and God must forever bless.'


	2. Damini's Shock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter follows shortly after episode 14 _Fallout_.
> 
> Warning for an OC spouting racism of both the anti-meta and Islamophobic kinds, while brandishing a weapon. Said OC is made to fuck off, because ain't no one okay with that bullshit around here.

After Firestorm leaves for Pennsylvania, Caitlin starts acting a little coldly distant again, like she had when Barry had first woken from the coma. Barry turns to Iris for ideas about how to cheer her back up, and Iris insists that a shopping trip is in order. Which Caitlin doesn't sound too enthused about, and Cisco absolutely _refuses_ to be involved in, but Barry's been dragged on enough 'shopping therapy' trips, between Lisa and Iris, that he joins them with only a little eye rolling, agreeing to carry all the bags. 

(At least Iris doesn't spend half the trip leaning over to whisper how she'd go about stealing something.) 

They're just getting ready to leave the second or third shop – Barry had decided early on not to really keep track, if only for the sake of his own sanity – when someone lets out a pained yell. 

Barry's not the only one who turns to look, because he's out with a reporter and a doctor – biological engineer, whatever, _stop getting technical, Caitlin_ – but he is the only one who almost immediately drops the bags he's holding and hurries forward at a normal speed – this would be _so much easier_ if Iris hadn't come – to get between the angry security guard and the young woman wearing a hijab, who is covered in a sparking web of electricity. "Hey, whoa!" he shouts, holding out a hand at the guard, who has his gun half out of its holster. 

"Get out of the way, sir," the guard snarls, finishing pulling his gun out. 

"Barry!" Iris shouts, even as she and Caitlin run over. 

Barry stands his ground, though, because he knows he can catch any bullets that come his way, and he'd rather expose his power to Iris than stand back as someone gets shot. "Can't we handle this peacefully?" he asks, letting his voice drop to the hopefully-soothing register he usually used as the Flash. 

"Look at her! A Muslim _and_ a freak. She's probably planning to blow up the whole mall!" 

"Bullshit," Barry returns, unimpressed. He's met more criminal metahumans than non-criminals, but he knows they exist, even calls a few his friends. And he's going to give this woman the benefit of the doubt, because she doesn't look like a criminal, to him. (And he _knows_ criminals; spends his nights sleeping with a couple.) 

And then Iris is stepping between him and the guard with a sharp-edged smile, saying, "I'm with Central City Picture News, and I'd _love_ to do an article on the bigotry of white men in positions of authority. Could I get your name so I can quote you?" 

The guard stumbles back, free hand snapping up to cover the name badge on his shirt, because Iris isn't physically intimidating, but she grew up with a cop and knows how to make herself dangerous. "Just get that freak out of the mall," he orders as he shoves his gun away as he turns and makes his escape. 

"Joe is going to _kill_ you," Barry tells her, even as he turns towards the woman he'd protected, who had stopped sparking at some point. "Hey, you okay? He didn't do anything to you?" 

Wide brown eyes look between him, Caitlin, and Iris, as though she hadn't expected their support. 

(Central City is relatively liberal, but they _do_ live in a red state, and it shows a little too often, in Barry's opinion.) 

The woman licks her lips, then nods. "I– Yes. I mean, I'm okay. He didn't–" She pulls her left arm in close, hugging it. "He couldn't touch me," she adds, sounding ashamed. 

" _Good_ ," Barry says, because he's seen enough cops manhandling people who didn't deserve the rough treatment, to appreciate having a power that could keep people from grabbing you. 

"Are you here with someone?" Caitlin asks while the woman is staring at Barry like she can't quite believe he's real. "I don't want to leave you alone, in case he comes back." 

"Or someone else thinks to try," Iris adds with a world of venom in her voice. 

Barry glances up, realizing they've gathered a small crowd of onlookers. Some of them are throwing hostile looks towards the woman, like they think that guard had the right of it. "I'll get our bags," he says, and puts on his best impression of Len's cold stare as he goes to collect their things, turning it on the gawkers as he goes. 

When he gets back, most of the crowd has dispersed, and Caitlin and Iris have closed ranks around the woman, who still looks a little like she can't believe they're there. 

"This is Barry, my foster brother," Iris offers as Barry joins his two friends. "He's our pack mule for the day." 

"I'm going to dump you in the fountain," Barry tells her, while Caitlin coughs a little too obviously into her hand. 

"I'm Damini," the new woman offers, inclining her head. "Thank you. For earlier." 

"Of course," Barry replies with his best non-threatening smile. "No way we could stand back and let him threaten you." 

Iris lets out a strained huff. "I can't believe they passed that legislation letting security guards carry live guns," she says, and Barry has to resist rolling his eyes, because he's heard the rant a few times already. 

"They're worried about metahumans," Caitlin points out quietly, but she's frowning. 

"Why not just wait for the Flash?!" Iris complains a little too loudly. 

" _Iris_!" Barry hisses, because he's fairly certain they've caused enough of a disruption today. 

"He's only one man," Caitlin reminds her, and Iris huffs, but doesn't continue the familiar rant. 

"Metahumans?" Damini asks quietly into the following silence. 

"Oh. I–" Caitlin throws Barry a wide-eyed look, because she probably hasn't discussed this topic with anyone outside of their team and Iris. 

Barry clears his throat. "It's a term we use for people who developed abilities after the S.T.A.R. Labs accelerator exploded," he offers. "It's... Well, 'human', obviously, is all of us. And then the 'meta', meaning sort of 'more than', I guess?" He glances at Caitlin. 

She shrugs. "Essentially. It's not a _bad_ thing," she adds, looking at Damini. "I mean, it's not meant as a derogatory term. But, also, it's okay to be a metahuman." 

"Yeah. The Flash is," Iris adds with a bright smile, because once she forgave him for what he did under Bivolo's influence, she was very much back in his court again, and Barry is getting used to seeing her snooping around during or after incidents involving the Flash, looking for whatever material for a new story she can get. 

"That's true," Damini admits. "But, he is a hero. I'm just–" She stops, casting an uncertain look around them. No one seems to be paying them any attention at the moment, but Barry knows how quickly that can change. 

"Maybe a break for lunch?" he suggests. "Damini, you're welcome to come with us." 

"Oh, yes please!" Iris is quick to agree, her whole face lighting up. "You've got to tell me where you got your shoes! They look so _practical_."

"They're very comfortable," Damini agrees with a faint smile, and lets Iris turn her to start walking as she explains where she'd got them. 

"I've got so used to _fighting_ metahumans," Caitlin says quietly to Barry, "I almost forgot that not all of them want to cause trouble." 

Barry nods tiredly. "Yeah. There's a couple in my neighborhood who are just trying to get by. Not everyone got the sort of powers that can bring down a building." 

"I'm pretty sure that was at least half tech," Caitlin replies drily, her mind clearly going to Hartley Rathaway, who has been missing since he escaped Cisco. (Barry has a vague suspicion that his boyfriends might have helped the scientist go to ground, which he hadn't actually considered being a possibility until after they were able to make Shawna Baez vanish with only about half an hour's warning.) "But I do know what you mean. I'm sure a number of them are just trying to keep on with their lives." 

"And stay out of the Flash and the CCPD's grip," Barry adds with a grimace, because as soon as they had the tech to allow Iron Heights to hold metahumans, it got around in a real hurry that the Flash was imprisoning metahumans. Len and Mick, he knows, are being clear that it's _criminals_ he's taking in, not metahumans, but that's really only enough to calm the people in their neighborhood. 

Caitlin winces. "Well," she offers, motioning towards where Damini and Iris are debating food court options ahead of them, "at least you can make some friends as Barry Allen." 

Barry offers her a lopsided smile. "There is that," he agrees, though his being a member of the CCPD sometimes gets in the way of that the same way his being the Flash would. 

They end up spending the next three hours with Damini, because she'd come to the mall with her younger brother, Ankur, and his friends, all of whom had vanished into the nearly defunct arcade almost as soon as they made it into the building, and she can't leave until they're ready to do so, because she's their ride home. Iris is delighted to have her along – if only because she's more fashion-inclined than either Caitlin or Barry – and both Barry and Caitlin agree that they would rather she stay with them, than leave her to wander the mall alone. Just in case. 

When her brother finally rings her, Damini promises to meet him at the entrance to the parking garage, then turns and smiles at them. "Thank you, for both your help and your companionship. I had a lot of fun." 

"Oh!" Iris says, and starts poking through her purse. 

Barry rolls his eyes at her, then offers a smile to Damini. "Of course. I'm pretty sure we all had fun, too." 

"I did," Caitlin agrees. 

"Absolutely!" Iris exclaims, even as she brandishes a business card at Damini. "My mobile number's on there. If you need a friend to hang out with you again, or you just want to vent, whatever. Keep in touch." 

Damini blinks a couple of times as she takes the card, her eyes shining wetly. "Thank you, Iris." 

"Can I hug you?" Iris asks in response. 

Damini ends up hugging both Iris and Caitlin, but apologetically explains, "I'm sorry, Barry. It's not that I don't want to, because you have been very nice, it's just not really permissible. In my religion." 

"It's okay," Barry promises, holding up his handfuls of bags as an additional excuse. "Take care of yourself." 

"I will. Thank you," Damini tells them all, then hurries off towards the three teenage boys who are waiting impatiently by the door. 

"I hope she calls," Iris says as they watch the group leave the mall. 

"I'm sure she will," Caitlin offers. 

(She does, and Barry knows of at least three lunches that Iris takes suspiciously close to Damini's high school, like she's maybe sneaking her new friend off campus to eat out.)

.


	3. Mini Mia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter falls between episode 18 _All Star Team Up_ and episode 19 _Who Is Harrison Wells?_ , with a bit at the end occurring after the latter.

Barry's the one who finds the little girl, hiding in a cramped little space behind some industrial-esque pipes that she never should have been able to get to, but which had probably saved her life, because the gunman had gone for easy targets. 

"Hey, sweetheart," he says, keeping his voice low and gentle and holding out his hands so she can see he's not armed. And he should probably try to call over someone who's actually trained in talking to victims of mass tragedies, but he likes to think he's learnt a lot during his duties as the Flash. Anyway, he has a sneaking suspicion he knows how she got into that hole, and he doesn't know nearly enough about the group the FBI sent to trust any of them with a metahuman. "My name's Barry, and I'm with the police. I promise you're not in any trouble or danger. Can you come out?" 

The girl stares at him from inside her hole for a long moment, then shakes her head. 

Barry frowns. "You can't get yourself out?" he offers. 

"Stuck," she whispers, and tightens her arms around her knees. 

Barry can't really tell if that means she's afraid to use her power, or if she can't control it. Either way, he doesn't push, instead taking a look at what he has to work with. He's no building engineer, but he does live with a man who could have been one, if he was any less interested in stealing things. So, while he can't tell without some help what the pipes are used for or where they go, he can tell that they aren't coming unscrewed from the wall without some serious work. Probably involving either a power drill or an industrial-strength saw. He doesn't have access to either, and he doesn't think either of them would be happy with waiting until someone finds one. 

That leaves him with his own powers, and he takes a quick look around to ensure no one's entered the room since he'd spotted the girl, then he turns back to her and takes a deep breath. "Okay. I'm going to try to move the pipes, but I don't know how far I'll be able to do so. As soon as you have room, slip out." 

She nods, staring at him with wide eyes. 

Barry takes another breath as he shifts positions, then he reaches out and does his best to brace the pipes as he vibrates the bars holding them against the wall hard enough that they snap. 

The girl lets out a startled gasp when he starts, but she doesn't actually speak until after she's managed to slide out under the pipes. "Free." 

Barry carefully scoots back, wincing when the pipes sag warningly when he's no longer bracing them – that's going to be interesting to explain to the museum curator – then he turns and offers the girl a smile. "Okay?" 

She stares at him for a long moment, then reaches out and takes the hand Barry had been vibrating against the bars. "You're like me," she said in a hush as she looked his hand over. 

Barry swallows and nods. "Yeah," he agrees quietly. "It's a secret, though." 

She nods and lets go of his hand. "No one can know, or they lock you up," she says with all the wisdom of a child who had heard too many horror stories. 

"Only if you do something bad," Barry corrects. "Being different isn't a crime." 

She gives him a slow blink. "It's only a crime if you're caught." 

Well, that's...disturbing to hear a kid say. "Let's avoid saying that to the police or FBI," he suggests a bit drily. 

She nods, then tilts her head to the side. "You're with the police." 

"Oh, yeah." Barry fumbled out his lanyard, which he usually shoves in his back pocket so it doesn't get in the way of evidence collection. "I'm a CSI, one of the people who come through after the crime's done and finds what evidence they can." 

"CSI," she repeats like she's tasting the word, rubbing her fingers over his lanyard. "I'm glad you found me." 

"So am I," Barry admits, because he can't envision how much trouble anyone else would have had getting her out. 

"I'm Mia," the girl says at last as she hands back his lanyard. 

"It's good to meet you, Mia. Were you with the Keystone Elementary group?" 

She blinks and nods. 

Barry takes a deep breath, preparing himself to deliver the bad news. "Okay. Uhm, both of the teachers who came with are, uhm, they're gone." 

"Dead," Mia corrects in a monotone. 

Barry blinks at her, a little disturbed at her tone. But then he recognizes, just a little, that she's wearing the same expression he'd worn in some of the photos of himself in the years following Mom's death, when he would remember she was gone. "Oh," he hears himself say, then hurries to continue, "One of the other adults, an older man, he's been rushed to hospital, and the two women who are about my age were both being treated for minor wounds when I got in, same with a bunch of the other kids." 

"Okay," Mia says. 

Barry swallows, then holds out his hand to her. "Let me walk you down before someone remembers you're missing and it causes a panic." 

"No one will remember," Mia tells him with certainty, but she still takes his hand and lets him lead her out of the room and down to the museum lobby, where the members of her class that weren't being treated by the paramedics were gathered. 

"Who gave you permission to take that child anywhere?" the FBI agent who's stuck watching the kids demands when he sees Barry and Mia. 

"I found her hiding upstairs," Barry replies in as neutral a tone as he can manage; he'd picked up a dislike of the FBI from Joe long before joining the precinct, during times when they'd boot the local police off a case for whatever reason, and living with two criminals who are wanted in multiple states hasn't helped that. Still, Singh had been clear that they would be playing nice with the feds. Or _else_. "Her name's Mia." 

The agent scowls and brings up a clipboard with paperwork on it. "Last name?" he drawls. 

"Mia?" Barry calls when she doesn't immediately answer. 

Mia blinks, opens her mouth to speak, stops and shakes her head, then says, "Johnson?" like she isn't actually certain of her last name. 

The agent apparently finds her, though, because he makes a mark and drawls, "We were informed you were absent today." 

Judging by the smug or discontent looks some of the other students are sending Mia's way, that had been intentional. 

(Children, Barry knows, can be far too cruel.) 

"You're welcome to go. Whoever you are," the agent adds to Barry. 

"Barry," Mia says, tightening her grip on Barry's hand, as though she's afraid he'll let go. "He's a _CSI_ ," she adds like she thinks that's important. 

"Great, a _lab rat_ ," the agent mutters, rolling his eyes. "Look, leave the kid and do your job already, won't you?" 

Barry's used to his job being looked down on by cops – regular officers, usually, but a couple of detectives hate having to depend on the science to support their case, far too fond of the days when the law depended on a hunch and beating or threatening a confession out of your 'perpetrator' – so he ignores the insults. But Mia looks the most alive Barry's seen her yet, red coloring her face and whole chest puffing up like she's about to start screaming. 

"Mia," he murmurs, leaning down to talk to her without the agent overhearing. "He's right, I do need to get back to work. Will you be okay with your classmates?" 

She deflates, looking lost and hurt in a way that Barry can relate to, but he's learnt the hard way that there are some fights you cannot win, and the one she was gearing up for was one such. "Yeah," she says, monotone. 

"Okay." He squeezes her hand once, then pushes her gently towards her classmates. When she goes, dragging her feet the whole way, he turns and returns to his job, heart heavy. 

By the time he's finished, the kids have already been picked up and are on their way back to Keystone, and he tries not to feel too bad for missing the chance to tell Mia goodbye. 

Not quite a week later, just after the mess with Hannibal Bates and Joe and Cisco getting back from Starling with the body of the real Harrison Wells, a large, hand-made thank you letter arrives from the classes at Keystone Elementary who had been at the museum, which everyone knows had to have been the idea of their new teachers, and likely at least half of the kids had been forced to sign it. 

"Allen," Singh says before Barry can escape after coming down to take a look; he'd really only been interested in spotting Mia's name, which hadn't taken long. 

"Sir?" Barry says, looking over at him. 

Singh is holding out an envelope, which has 'CSI BARRY' scrawled across the front. "This one is for you." 

"Ooh, Allen has a kindergartener crushing on him?" Frank Curtis, one of the detectives, calls with a mean little smile. 

"Third grader," Detective Ava Randall corrects, her tone unimpressed. "Really, Frankie, it's no wonder the ex took the kids in the divorce." 

"Why you–!"

Singh cleared his throat and the two detectives shut up, very obviously not looking at each other. 

Barry makes his escape before anyone can start in on him again. In his lab, he opens the envelope and is maybe a little surprised to find it's a more heart-felt thank you card from Mia, one which is clearly store-bought, but no less well-meant. It includes an address he can write to her at, with a note in much neater handwriting (Barry assumes it's her guardian), which echoes her thanks for rescuing her and explains that Mia wants to be penpals and her guardian is willing to allow it. 

Barry is touched and maybe has to wipe at wet eyes, but he absolutely writes her back and posts the letter on his way to S.T.A.R. Labs that evening. He leaves her card in his lab, and it's something he can look at that wins a smile from him, even once everything goes to hell only a few days later.

.


	4. Kerry's Flame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter follows pretty much immediately after _Whatever Happens Here, We Remain_ , picking up within days of Barry, Mick, and Len's return to Central City.

Iris' idea of making sure Barry is okay after he, Len, and Mick get back from Sun City, is a double date. Which Len has to turn down because he had business to catch up on in their neighborhood – Barry knows his boyfriend has become the de facto leader of part of the city between the mob's territory and where the police will patrol, and people in that area expect him to play the part – but he's got both his cold gun and Lisa with him, so Mick's willing to play the part of Barry's boyfriend for the day. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given how Mick liked to play up his pyromania (well, somewhat; he really _did_ tend to get a little over distracted by fire more often than not) and downplay his intelligence, Eddie looked a little uncertain when Barry told him Mick would be the one coming to dinner with them. But he didn't outright complain, and Barry still prefers talking about his boyfriends as little as possible around the precinct, so they both left it. 

Barry rides with Eddie to the restaurant Iris found, since it's on the other side of the city, in a neighborhood that isn't known for its regular police patrols, but is still nice enough that no one side-eyes their nicer clothing, which Barry and Eddie had taken turns using his lab to change into before they left. (And then bore the familiar ribbing from their co-workers with good humor. Joe, who was still working at his desk, had just ignored both of them. Which, Eddie had confided in Barry when he first got back, he'd been doing pretty much since the first time Eddie had told him to shut up about Barry's boyfriends. The day before Barry got back, Singh had even assigned them separate partners, because it was affecting their work. And while Barry feels a little bad for being the source of the strife, he knows – _without_ being told a dozen times, thank you _everyone else_ – that this is on Joe, not him.) 

Iris and Mick are waiting for them when they get there, Mick having politely agreed to pick up Iris on his way. (She, like Barry, doesn't see the point in wasting money on car payments, insurance, and gas when public transit and rides from friends and co-workers get them around the city just fine. Unlike Barry, who had been pressured into learning to drive by his boyfriends, Iris doesn't have a license, though Barry suspects Eddie will talk her into learning before they get married, if he hasn't already started teaching her.) 

Iris, of course, looks as lovely as ever. But Mick, unusually, has donned a _suit_ , even though Barry knows he hates them, and is freshly shaven, which makes him look a lot less like Len Snart's dumb muscle or the eternally snarling Heatwave. 

Barry laughs a bit as he walks up to them, and Mick quirks a crooked, amused smile at him. "Where'd you steal this from?" Barry jokes as he tugs on one of the lapels. 

Mick snorts. "Ask Lisa. She's the one what turned it up," he says, making an obvious (to Barry) attempt to hide his rougher Keystone accent. Barry's heard him do this a few times over the course of their relationship – he'd done it a number of times in Sun City when Barry talked him into meeting him for lunch near his campus – and he doubts it'll ever get old. Especially since people treat him differently, and Barry always prefers people _not_ talking to his boyfriend like they think he's an idiot. 

"Bare," Eddie says in a helpless tone, and Iris giggles. 

Barry coughs. "No implying we might be aware of criminal activities?" he guesses, and Mick rumbles a laugh as he tugs him in for a kiss. 

Eddie just groans, and Barry wonders if working with a vigilante for the past couple of months is making it any easier for him to ignore the occasional reference to crime. 

Dinner goes surprisingly well, once they get past the initial awkwardness of having both a wanted criminal and a police detective at the same table. 

It isn't until after they're done, while they're trading goodbyes outside the restaurant, that things go to shit. 

Mick stiffening at Barry's side is his first warning, almost immediately followed by him saying, "Fire." 

Barry and Eddie both straighten, looking around them, but it's Iris who sees the smoke, pointing just over Barry's shoulder and saying, "Over there." 

"Shit," Eddie says, yanking out his mobile to dial 911, because that's an awful lot of smoke, and once they've spotted it, the glow of the fire making it is also visible. 

"Mick, you need to _go_ ," Barry hisses, trying to shove his boyfriend towards the familiar bright red Mustang. 

"Ya think I'm gonna jest let ya go runnin'–" Mick starts, falling back into his familiar accent. 

"If you're seen near a fire, they're gonna think _you_ set it, and you _know it_!" Barry interrupts in a hiss. "Don't make me have to break you out of prison tonight." 

Mick scowls. "If ya ain't home afore me, I'm comin' back here," he warns, then storms to his car. 

Barry breathes a sigh of relief, then nods to Eddie and Iris before speeding towards the fire as quickly as he can in his suit. Which isn't nearly fast enough to put out the fire, he knows. Not that it looks like it'll do him much good, not as big as the blaze has got, the house nearly vanished inside the flames. 

"Take _that_!" a woman standing in the middle of the street shouts at the blazing house. "Burn in hell with your harlot!" And then she raises her hand and a fireball forms in it, which she throws into the blazing house. 

"Did you set that?!" Barry shouts, too shocked to keep it in. 

She spins to face him, fireballs appearing in both hands. "So what if I did?" she snarls, her face twisted with rage. "He got what he deserved!" 

"You can't just go around _killing people_!" Barry shouts over the sound of approaching sirens. 

"Can't I?" the woman returns, and then throws one of her fireballs at Barry. 

Barry flashes out of the way, forgetting he's not wearing his suit until after he's stopped moving and the scent of burnt rubber wafts up from his poor shoes. 

The woman's staring at him, wide-eyed, the hand holding the other fireball hanging limp. "Flash," she whispers, and Barry almost curses as he hurriedly makes his face blur. 

" _Police_!" Eddie shouts from the direction of the restaurant, and Barry looks over to find him standing in the middle of the street, gun out and pointed at the woman with the fireballs. 

She's stuck between them and the burning house, now, and Barry can see the moment she decides to commit suicide by fire. "No!" he shouts, speeding forward and grabbing her arm. 

At close-range, there's no way her fireball can miss, and Barry can't stop a scream as it connects with his shoulder, burning through his suit and setting his skin blistering. 

" _No_!" he hears Iris scream, while Eddie shouts, "Flash!" 

Barry grits his teeth against the pain and refuses to let go. "Don't do it," he gets out through gritted teeth. Somehow. 

She stares at him for a second that seems to go on forever before saying, "I'm sorry." 

And then she shoves Barry _hard_ , though without using any more fire, and turns to run into the house while Barry's still reeling, too off balance to react quick enough to stop her. 

He needn't have bothered, because a shot rings out and the woman howls as she crumples to the lawn in front of the burning house, clutching at her leg. 

Eddie takes careful, measured steps towards the woman, gun out and ready to fire again. 

Iris, though, runs to Barry, her eyes wild and eyes wet as she crouches down next to him. "Oh my god," she breathes, hand hovering over his shoulder. " _Barry_."

"It'll heal," Barry grits out, because it will. It'll hurt like a bitch once the nerves regrow enough for him to feel it, and he's pretty sure he won't be making it back home before Mick, but he'll be able to go in to work tomorrow with no one the wiser that he'd taken a fireball to the shoulder after dinner. (Simultaneously a pro and con of being the Flash.) 

As though the thought had called him – Barry suspects Iris is the actual culprit – the red Mustang roars to a stop next to them, Mick's face a mask of rage, which Barry doesn't think he's ever seen so close to a fire before. "Get in, ya moron," he orders. 

Barry manages a huff, though he's pretty sure it comes out pained, and doesn't fight Iris when she helps him up and into the back seat. 

"We've got 'im," Mick promises her, and then the car is racing away with a squeal of tires, likely just missing the incoming fire trucks. 

Mick waits until they're well away from the fire before snarling, "Goddammit, Barry! Yer not invulnerable!" 

"I know that," Barry chokes out, cradling his arm and doing his best to both ignore the scent of charred flesh and avoid looking at the mess of his shoulder. Not for the first time, he wishes pain killers would work on him, because _god_ parts of it already hurt, and he knows it's going to get worse as his skin knits back together and nerves regrow. 

Mick doesn't say anything else, just continues driving through the city. He does lighten his turns around corners, and Barry's fairly certain he's doing his best to avoid potholes, which he appreciates. 

A hospital is, of course, out of the question, and while Caitlin had made it clear a while back that she can treat Barry at her home, if necessary, Barry's not particularly surprised that Mick takes them straight home. Because, of all of the wounds he could have got, burns are the one Mick's most familiar with. 

And Mick _does_ treat him, his hands gentle even though he keeps muttering angry insults. By the time Len gets home a couple hours later, Barry's bundled up on the couch, his shoulder open to the air and already looking much better than it had before Mick started cutting the remains of his suit away from it. Len is, unsurprisingly, unimpressed at Barry taking a fireball to the shoulder to keep an arsonist from committing suicide. Barry calls him a hypocrite, Len points out Mick wouldn't commit suicide just for being caught, and Mick rolls his eyes and shuts them both up by supplying ice cream and hot chocolate. 

It's a rough night for all of them, because Mick and Len decide they'd rather sleep out in the living room with Barry, rather than go to bed without him, but Barry's shoulder is completely healed by morning, not even a scar to match the familiar array along Mick's shoulders and back. (Barry's pretty sure he's not supposed to be sad about that, but he does sometimes miss having scars, especially since both of his boyfriends have so many.) 

When he gets into the precinct in the morning, both Eddie and Iris are already there, bruises under their eyes speaking to a long night of their own. Iris runs over and hugs him as soon as she sees him stepping out of the lift, which Barry appreciates, even though it might look a little weird. 

And then Eddie reaches them and grimly explains, "After you left last night, there was a fire. The woman who set it is a metahuman and in custody. Her husband died in the fire, and they have a kid. Who's also a metahuman and the grandparents won't take him." 

"Oh, _shit_ ," Barry says with feeling, because there have only been two metahumans in the foster system, so far as Barry knows, and one of them was killed by their foster parents when they found out, while the other ran away and is currently living in one of Matty's buildings in Barry's neighborhood. (He's never met the kid, unlike Angel, but he's been slipping Matty money so he has a safe place to stay, same as he's done a couple times for Angel and the two other metahumans he knows of who find shelter in Matty's buildings. Matty, kindly, has never told anyone where the money comes from, and he doesn't make a fuss about Barry supporting metahumans, just tells him how many couldn't pay that week, and then asks for help with another weird stain as Barry counts out the necessary money.) 

"He's only _five_ ," Iris whispers, her face lined with grief. "I asked if we could take him, but..." She shakes her head. 

"Not married, and we both have jobs with crazy hours," Eddie says for her, frustration in his voice. "We thought about asking Caitlin or Cisco, but with Wells dead..." 

"They don't really have jobs, right now," Barry agrees tiredly, even as he cycles through his mental list of everyone he knows would might be willing to take in a metahuman child. "I could try the Steins?" 

"I forgot about him!" Iris says, perking up. 

Barry quickly dials the number he has for Dr Stein, which ends up being the landline, and his wife, Clarissa picks up. Once Barry's identified himself and Clarissa gets Dr Stein on the line, he explains, "There was a fire last night and it's left a metahuman child effectively orphaned. If he goes into the system, it's likely he won't survive, so we're trying to find someone who'll take him." 

_"Oh, the poor thing,"_ Clarissa says, sounding honestly upset on the kid's behalf. 

_"What is is ability?"_ Dr Stein asks. 

"Uh, mom threw fireballs," Barry offers as he turns back to Iris and Eddie. 

"Kerry can summon fire, too, but only small flames," Iris explains, holding her finger and thumb up so they're maybe the width of a quarter apart. 

"Small flames. He's only five," Barry tells the Steins. 

_"Martin,"_ Clarissa says, a world of meaning in her voice. 

Dr Stein sighs. _"We'll come and meet him."_

By the cheer Iris lets out, Barry's relief must show on his face. "Eddie, is the kid here? Or with child services?" Because metahuman cases always got sent through their precinct, no matter where in the city they originated. Barry was fairly certain that was due entirely to Joe and Eddie having a connection to the Flash, though he supposed being the closest precinct to S.T.A.R. Labs might have something to do with it, too. 

"Here." 

Barry passes on directions to the Steins, then hangs up. "It's not a definite thing," he warns, because Iris still looks like it's Christmas morning, "but they want to meet him. And it sounds like Clarissa, Dr Stein's wife, is onboard, at least." 

"Well, I'm going to have positive thoughts," Iris insists, then grabs his hand. "Come on, there's plenty of time for you to meet Kerry before they get here." 

Kerry looks lonely and terrified where he's sitting in a corner that's been very obviously fire-proofed. The man and woman who Barry assumes must be from child services have left a clear distance between themselves and the kid and are clearly content to ignore him. 

"You again," the man says when he sees Iris and Barry approaching. 

"Yeah, _me_ ," Iris snaps in that tone she always uses when Joe's being completely unreasonable. "This is Barry Allen, who works here. He called some friends of his who might be willing to take Kerry. They're on their way." 

The man looks Barry up and down and clearly finds him lacking. "More unmarried college graduates," he assumes. 

Barry lets time slow around himself and takes a deep breath, expels the well of anger churning in his gut, and then smiles as everything returns to normal speed and says, "Maybe. I'd like to meet Kerry, if that's alright with you?" 

Iris lets out a sharp breath, which sounds a little surprised. Like she'd been gearing up to join Barry in yelling this pair down. But Barry thinks the Steins coming in and proving their assumption wrong will feel much better, in the long run. 

"It's your funeral," the woman says, motioning for them to go ahead. There are what look to be first-degree burns on her fingers, which are shining from some sort of soothing cream or gel. 

Iris leads the way, and Kerry clearly recognizes her, because he perks up, dropping the paperclip chain he'd been working with. "Iris!" he cries, reaching up his hands towards her. 

"I'm sorry I left, sweetie," Iris says as she picks him up, then sits in the space he'd been in. "This is my best friend, Barry." 

"Hi, Kerry," Barry offers with a smile. 

Kerry blinks at him, then reaches out a hand, inside which appears a miniature flame. By his expression, Barry suspects this is intended as a test, and his heart hurts at this sign that even a five-year-old has learnt that he won't always be accepted because he's a metahuman. 

"That," Barry tells him with all the sincerity he can muster, "is _super_ cool. My boyfriend would be _so_ jealous if he was here." 

Iris laughs. "It's probably for the best that he _can't_ summon fire with a thought." 

" _Tell me about it_ ," Barry says, while Kerry's fire goes out and he looks between them with a growing smile. "At least his lighters and matches have a limited use." 

"Oh no," Iris moans, but then she's grinning at him. "Did you see his face the first time Firestorm caught fire?" 

"I honestly thought he was going to hug him," Barry admits, before telling Kerry, "We have a friend who can set himself on fire. He calls himself Firestorm, but we only knew him as the 'burning man' for a while." 

" _Cool_ ," Kerry announces. 

By the time the Steins arrive, Barry's shared stories about a handful of metahumans he's met, and he really hopes the Steins can take him, because Kerry's favorite is undoubtedly Firestorm, and Barry wants to be there when he finds out his new dad is one half of Firestorm. 

Barry's right that the child services people's reaction to the Steins being Barry's friends are pretty excellent. More so when it turns out that the woman took a class under Dr Stein at one point and knows _exactly_ who he is. 

Clarissa takes approximately ten seconds to fall in love with Kerry, judging by her expression, and Dr Stein is probably won over as much by her pleading stare as by the thoughts of what he can discover watching how Kerry's gift grows with him. 

By lunchtime, Kerry has a new family who Barry knows will protect him from any backlash about his being a metahuman, and he looks like he's having a great time when they all catch lunch together at Big Belly Burger. 

After lunch, Barry sneaks down to the metahuman cell in the basement, because Kerry's mother, Jennifer, isn't planned to be moved for another couple hours, after the traffic from the lunch rush has petered out. 

Jennifer looks up as Barry slips into the room, and the way her eyes immediately go to his shoulder tells him she recognizes him. "I heal fast," he tells her. 

"I'm glad," she says, and she sounds like she means it. 

Barry crosses his arms over his chest, keeping away from the cell because the energy dampeners always make him feel a little like the world is dragging on him. Not harmful or painful, just uncomfortable. "I met Kerry," he says. 

Jennifer's face crumples. "My baby," she whispers. "I didn't think– I was just so _angry_. Is he–"

"A friend of mine, who's also like us, is able to adopt him. They'll keep him safe, teach him how to manage his abilities. Maybe bring him to visit you, if he ever asks." Barry had made sure of that, because he'd spent too much of his childhood desperate to visit his dad and being constantly told no. It doesn't matter that Jennifer actually _had_ killed her husband, Kerry deserves the right to choose whether or not he wants to see his mother again. 

" _Thank you_ ," Jennifer whispers, tears rolling down her face. 

Barry shrugs and nods and makes his escape when it's clear she has nothing else to add.

.


	5. Jackie's Force

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter that covers Henry's release from prison. For those who have been waiting for it. ^^; Takes place between seasons one and two.

Wells/Thawne/whoever may not have confessed to his crimes, but his corpse _had_ reverted to his original form, which meant they had a body to match the unknown DNA that had been found at Barry's house. Which Barry doesn't find out until well after he's returned from Sun City, as everyone had apparently agreed to keep it hushed until they knew for certain that they had enough to convince a judge for a retrial. 

Barry's testimony, which had been thought madness fifteen years before, was now accepted in court, with some additional video of the Flash and Reverse-Flash fighting at Christmas, to prove there were two speedsters in Central City. Testimony from both Joe and Eddie painted the Reverse-Flash as the villain. 

Two weeks after Barry returns from Sun City, Dad is a free man. 

They have the party at Saints and Sinners, because it's one of the few places in the city where supervillains and members of the CCPD can shake hands without someone waiting for the handcuffs to come out. Iris, Eddie, Cisco, Caitlin, and Ronnie all look a little out of place next to Len, Mick, and Lisa, but they're all smiling when Barry leads Dad in, all the same. The Steins show up about twenty minutes later – apparently they got lost – with Kerry in tow, and while he seems a little uncertain about the crowd at first, Barry introduces him to Mick and he and Kerry are fast friends. (Clarissa jokes that they might have to discuss visitation. By Mick's expression, Barry suspects visitation might be less of a joke than she thinks.) 

"This," Dad tells him a little over an hour into the party, after a couple of the locals have poked their heads in despite the sign on the door and offered their congratulations, "is a pretty amazing family you've built yourself, Slugger." 

"Yeah, it really is," Barry agrees, though the reminder of the missing members – Mom and Joe – put a bit of a damper on his smile. 

"I'll have a word with Joe," Dad promises. 

"Are you going to punch him again?" Barry asks suspiciously, because he lives with two criminals who absolutely _would_ if given half the chance. "Because you realize he can actually arrest you, now. Again." 

Dad snorts and pulls him into a hug. "I make no promises." 

Barry huffs and laughs and lets it go. 

(Dad absolutely _does_ punch Joe again. In the middle of the bullpen at the precinct. Barry isn't there to see it, but Eddie gets it on video for him, and Barry moans when he watches it, but Len and Mick both roar with laughter, and Lisa gives Dad a high five next time she sees him. Dad ends up spending the night in a cell, but he swears it was worth it. And Joe still very obviously doesn't approve of Len and Mick, but he's talking to Barry and Iris and Eddie again. He also promises not to shoot Len or Mick next time he sees them, but he reserves the right to arrest them. Which everyone admits is fair.) 

About a month after he's released, Dad leaves. Which, well, a part of Barry's hurt by that, because he really sort of wanted his dad to stick around for a while. But, too, he's been living with criminals long enough to understand that need to just _go_. (Has suffered it himself, a few times; one of the dangers of constantly moving flats is that you eventually get used to changing it up on the regular.) 

Len, of course, suffers approximately an hour of Barry's moping before he snaps, " _Barry_. You can circle the earth in under five hours; if you need a hug, just run out to him and _get one_."

"Call first," Mick adds. 

Barry still misses his dad, but Len _does_ have a point, and Dad is generally game for Barry to run out to wherever he is that week, so long as he rings in advance. 

Barry doesn't even last a week before he's running to visit him, but that's mostly because Wells/Thawne/whoever apparently had a regular call-in with his attorney, and when he misses, his living will activates. And that designates Barry as the recipient of...pretty much _everything_ , including a video recording he's supposed to watch in order to keep S.T.A.R. Labs (and keep Cisco and Caitlin in work). 

Len and Mick are of the opinion that he should just bin the video, because watching it seems like a bad idea to them – considering the last conversation Barry'd had with Wells had sent him into a depressive spiral, he didn't blame them – but Barry liked using S.T.A.R. Labs as a base of operations, and he didn't want to make Cisco and Caitlin have to go job hunting. (Plus, if he owned the place, he could hire Ronnie and Dr Stein, so they both had a steady stream of income while they were in Central, as well as a place they could meet up and merge regularly without anyone asking questions about why two so different men were meeting. Hell, he could pay _himself_ , and then Len wouldn't be able to tease him about being a supervillain being more profitable than being a superhero.) 

In the end, it was Kerry who decided him, because the particle accelerator's explosion had changed a lot of lives, and far too many of them were in the same position as Kerry. In the same position as Angel and the other metahumans hiding in his neighborhood. Barry was only one man, but he'd learnt that a lot could be done if you had the bank to fund it. Like building somewhere safe for metahumans who needed a place to go. 

Len and Mick weren't able to argue with that, but they did insist that Barry watch the video with someone. Them, Barry assumes they meant, but, well... Wells/Thawne/whoever hadn't just ruined _Barry's_ life, and he thought it was only fair to give his dad the option to watch his final words, too. 

Dad agrees to watch it with him, so Barry speeds out to the coast, where Dad's enjoying the ocean, and they sit together in the shade, crowding around the laptop Barry brought with him. 

Dad scoffs and says, "Bullshit," when Wells says Barry will never be happy. 

(If Wells had had his way, though – if Barry and Len and Mick didn't love each other as much as they do – he would have been right. Which Barry tries very hard not to think too much about.) 

In the end, though, Barry and Dad are left staring at each other. "Did he just–?" Barry whispers. 

Dad laughs, loud and little startling, and then he yanks Barry into a hug. "You beat him, Slugger," he whispers. "You got me out without his pity play." 

Len and Mick, when Barry gets home and shares that with them, laugh, too. And, as soon as all the paperwork's filed and Barry's added Ronnie and Dr Stein to the payroll, they buy a ridiculous amount of expensive food and throw another party. 

While S.T.A.R. Labs is easy enough to sort out, and Barry and Mick turn Wells' glass house into their new chemical explosives site – it's unsurprisingly easy to talk Len into coming along and joining in, for once – he has far less luck with finding a safe space for metahumans. 

They can't use S.T.A.R. Labs because it's still in use as Flash and Firestorm's base of operations. There are a couple of places in the inner city that Barry thinks could serve, but all of them are within shouting distance of a police precinct or a news station of one media or another, and Barry knows he wouldn't want to go past either of those if he's going to a place meant for metahumans. So he starts looking in their neighborhood, except all of the buildings that might work there are already full of their 'neighbors', and Barry doesn't have it in him to kick a bunch of people out just so he can turn a building into a safe haven for a very specific sort of person who needs help. 

He finally finds the perfect building just inside mob territory, which _figures_. When he mentions it to Len, though, he says, "I'll handle it." And, two days later, the neighborhood has expanded to include the warehouse Barry wanted. Without any blood being spilt, miraculously. 

(Barry doesn't ask and Len doesn't explain.) 

Barry does a large portion of the inner construction himself, because it's faster than hiring a construction crew. He makes Mick, Len, Eddie, and Firestorm help him with the parts he can't do on his own, while the rest of his strange little family – minus Joe, who none of them are daring enough to ask to help, and Dad, who's still on holiday – get on the painting and purchasing furniture that should hold up under a wide array of abilities. 

"Who's going to run the place?" Caitlin asks Barry at one point. "Everyone here either has a job or is on the run from the law." 

"Not _everyone_ ," Barry replies, because Lisa knows all of Len's tricks to avoid getting caught, while also possessing a far smaller drama bone. So while she's been a person of interest in a handful of cases, she's never actually been convicted of anything. And, so long as Len doesn't let her tag along on any of his and Mick's little 'taunt the Flash' trips and she gets seen by the police or caught on video by an onlooker, that's not likely to change. 

Lisa takes a little convincing – she much prefers being a free spirit who can leave Central without any warning – but she does agree to manage the center for the first year, adding, "That should be plenty of time for you to sucker a couple of do-gooders into taking over for me." 

Barry got Angel and the other metahumans living in the neighborhood to move in first, and while they all started out a little uncertain, they all settled in without too much convincing. 

("It's the free food," Lisa whispers to him while they watch the small group tackle a far more filling and nutritious lunch than any of them have likely had in a long while, and Barry has to admit she probably has a point. Though he suspects that Izzy, at least, is also grateful for the access to medication; her advanced healing has been helping her manage her leprosy, but Barry has his own healing power, and he knows that it isn't always nice being able to heal super fast from whatever happens to you.) 

Iris talks her boss into letting her write an article about the center, and Eddie and Joe somehow manage to get Singh to go to bat for them and convince the police commissioner and the DA's office to put up notices in public places suggesting that metahumans can find a safe place to learn to use their powers, or just to go when there's nowhere else for them. And Len makes it clear to everyone in their neighborhood that metahumans on their way to the center are off-limits. (If, however, someone sees cops other than Eddie, or reporters other than Iris snooping around, they have his full permission to do whatever it takes to get them to fuck off back to the politer parts of the city. Barry's just hoping this doesn't end with the police calling in the national guard or something and 'cleansing' the neighborhood for attacking people just doing their jobs.) 

It still takes almost two months before a new metahuman shows up, and Barry actually comes across her on his own way to the center, backed into an alley and still managing to mostly hold her own against three thugs. 

"Hey!" he shouts once he's set down his armload of groceries, picking up a broken piece of brick and chucking it at the back of the biggest of the three. "What's Cold's rule?" 

The bigger two turn to face him, and Barry swallows, because it looks like these three might actually be Family, which means they're not going to respect Len's rules. They also aren't going to respect that Barry's got Len's protection, which means he's really better off running for it. 

Except they've cornered someone, and Barry doesn't need to be in costume to want to help people. 

"Ya really think we care what rules Snart's throwin' around?" one of them says. 

Barry grabs another broken brick piece and snaps, "You want to avoid a war, you do. Or do you really think the Families can stand up to Captain Cold and Heatwave?" 

" _Easily_ ," one of them says. But the other looks less certain. 

"Yeah?" Barry says, putting as much bravado into his voice as he can manage. "What if they make a deal with the Flash? Get his help." 

That stops both of them, and also makes the third guy finally turn away from the person they've cornered. The third guy's eyebrows go up when he sees Barry and he says, "Shit. Yer Cold's piece of ass, ain't ya?" 

Barry closes his eyes because _for fuck's sake_. He's _almost_ certain that assumption was reached by the Families on their own and not helped along by Len, but if he ever finds out otherwise, it's going to take a lot more than returning a big diamond to the museum to get Len back off the couch. "Either tell me which Family you are, or _scram_ ," he tells them. The implication being, of course, that he'll be mailing their remains back to their boss. (Truthfully, he's more likely to ensure they're gift-wrapped for the police, but they don't know that.) 

Wisely, they take their chance and leave. 

Barry huffs a bit and drops his brick piece once they're well past him, then he turns his focus to the person they'd cornered. Who he can now see is a teenager with – judging by how she's not touching the three bin lids hovering in front of her – telekinetic powers. "Hey, you okay?" 

All three lids hit the ground with a clatter and she collapses to her knees. 

Barry runs towards her, barely resisting the urge to use his speed. "They didn't get you, did they?" he asks as he kneels in front of her. "You're not hurt?" 

"I'm o-okay," she chokes out, and now Barry's close enough, he can see she's shaking like a leaf and her wide eyes are tearing up. 

"Do you do hugs?" Barry asks, because she looks like she could use one. 

In answer, she falls forward against him with a sob, and Barry doesn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her, making quiet shushing noises as she cries. 

When she finally draws away, she keeps her head down while she wipes angrily at her eyes. "Sorry. I didn't mean–"

"Hey," Barry interrupts. "It's okay. I cried, too, the first time I had a brush with the mob. Pretty sure most sane people do." 

"Only most?" she asks, and when she peeks out at him, Barry thinks he might see the start of a smile tugging at her mouth. 

Barry goes for a nonchalant shrug. "Sure. Some people plan their run-ins with tanks and fighter jets at their back." 

Her giggle sounds a little startled, but when Barry offers her a grin, she smiles back, a little shy, and he calls it a win. 

"I'm Barry," he offers with his hand. 

"Jackie." She shakes his hand briefly, then withdrawals, folding her fingers together. "I, uhm, I'm looking for the, the center? For people with p-powers." 

"I'm on my way there myself, if you want to join me?" Barry offers. 

"O-oh! Sure!" 

Despite not using his speed, Barry's easily to his feet before Jackie, and he holds down a hand to help her up the rest of the way. When he stops by the mouth of the alley to pick up the groceries he left there, she says, "Do you need help?" 

"I won't say no," Barry admits, and she takes one of the bags. When she takes a peek inside, clearly curious, he says, "Lisa, who's in charge of the center right now, has been bribing everyone there with movie night if they leave for a couple of hours every day. Which I totally get, because I wouldn't really want to be cooped up all day for weeks on end with the same faces, either. But it does mean we go through popcorn at a ridiculous rate." 

Jackie laughs at that, just a little. "It sounds like fun." 

"I hope it is," Barry says as honestly as he can. "Everyone we've got right now, they all ended up on the streets. Either because the people they trusted kicked them out, or because having abilities put them in a dangerous position." He takes a deep breath, then adds, "I got lucky. My family, they're okay with my powers. I want this center to be a place where everyone else can have that same luck." 

"Oh. That's–" Jackie let out a loud sniff and shifted her hold on her grocery bag so she could rub at her eyes. Then she turned a smile on him. "That's a good reason." 

Barry nods. "Yeah." 

She ducks her head, then, and asks in a kind of shy tone, "I heard, too, that you might know how to...control our powers? Like–"

"Block them?" he guesses, because one of the first things Angel had asked him, when he realized Barry was involved with S.T.A.R. Labs, was if there was a way to hide his wings. 

"Yes...and no. Maybe?" 

Barry can't help a slightly tired laugh. "S.T.A.R. Labs developed portable containment cuffs for transport of metahumans – those of us with powers – to help the police, but they only have so much charge, so it's not something you can wear indefinitely. Controlling powers, though, like learning how to better use them? We can certainly try. But you might have to suffer a bit of prodding and some uncomfortable questions from the S.T.A.R. Labs scientists." 

She makes a face. "Maybe not." 

Barry shrugs. "Up to you. They come around about once a week or so, so Caitlin – Dr Snow – can do check-up on everyone." 

"Oh. I don't– I'm still seeing my doctor? Sort of." 

Barry shoots her a knowing smile. "Yeah, but Caitlin's not going to put it in your record that you're a metahuman," he points out, and she ducks her head down and away. "This is the place," he adds, because they've reached the center. 

"Barry!" Angel calls as soon as he sees him. "Is that popcorn?" 

Barry laughs. "Yeah. Come take these bags and put them in the kitchen, and you can microwave one now." 

"Yes!" Angel hurries over to accept the bags, trading shy "Hello"s with Jackie, then races towards the kitchen, his little wings fluttering behind him. 

Jackie coughs what sounds suspiciously like a laugh into one hand and Barry shoots her a knowing grin. 

Lisa isn't the only one up in the room she's turned into her office, and Jackie gasps, "Captain Cold!" then ducks behind Barry. 

Len's raised eyebrow is more entertained than anything else, while Lisa rolls her eyes, then says, "Hi, Barry. Who've you got there?" 

"This is Jackie," Barry introduces, gently tugging her out from behind himself. "Jackie, this is Len and Lisa Snart. Lisa manages the center." 

"H-hi?" 

Lisa's smile is far more welcoming than the ones she usually turns on people, and Barry knows it's as more because of Jackie's nervous stutter, than her gender or apparent age. "Hey, kiddo. Don't mind Lenny's grumpy face. I promise the only person here he'll be biting is Barry." 

" _Lisa_!" Barry complains, while Len barks out a laugh. 

Jackie, though, turns wide eyes on Barry and breathes, "Wait, you mean you _are_ sleeping with Captain Cold? I-I thought that was–"

"Not a euphemism," Barry admits. And then, seeing Len's frown, because no one in the neighborhood would have dared to imply to a stranger that Barry was sleeping with a supervillain, explains, "A couple of Family thugs cornered her." 

Len's face goes flat and cold. " _Did_ they." 

"You are _not_ starting a war with the mob, Len." 

Lisa laughs at them, having heard this particular argument a time or two. "Come on, Jackie, let's introduce you around. And are you going to need a room?" 

"I– Oh, no. At least, I hope not. My father doesn't know–" Jackie explains as Lisa leads her out of the office and back down to where the television has been turned on downstairs. 

"The city can't afford a war," Barry reminds Len quietly once the two ladies are gone. " _We_ can't afford a war, not with the center right on the edge of the border." 

Len lets out an angry snarl, because he'd never endanger the metahuman center, and not just because it's Barry's pet project, but the fact that it's on the edge of their territory means it's at constant risk. The fastest way to secure it, would be to build more of a buffer between it and mob territory, but if they push too much further inwards, they chance starting a war. Or, alternately, the invisible line the police don't usually cross on the opposite side starts to creep inwards. 

They're in a delicate balance, for the moment, and all Barry can really do is keep hoping that it stays that way. 

(And maybe speed around the building in costume once or twice a week, just to remind the Families that Captain Cold and Heatwave aren't the only ones they'll have to fight if they try to take the building back.)

.


	6. +1 Flash Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder that this chapter is from a third person omniscient point of view. I do have a google document [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mPA8puD5F3uybraGWDzH8IR_B0ISWZ869YMqTLoK0UY/edit?usp=sharing), which has the approximate ages, powers, some basic background, and pictures of the OCs. In case you're left wondering who someone is. ^^; (I'd've posted it earlier, but I didn't wanna spoil anyone. Also, I had to finish putting it all together, sorry.)
> 
> This chapter covers events in season 2's first episode, _The Man Who Saved Central City_. It includes OCs in a mob spouting meta-racism and moving to commit violence against a child. However, I promise none of the kids are hit.
> 
> Chapter's _way_ early today both because I happen to be awake, and because I love you all. Thanks for all of your awesome comments!

It's a little strange, how someone can be both a hero and a villain. 

It's a concept that the denizens of the part of town they simply call 'the neighborhood' – but which the rest of the city usually calls the slums or 'Cold's territory' – have become quite familiar with, as Captain Cold and Heatwave have turned their dirty little slice of Central City into a safe space for those with nowhere else to go. Those among them who are criminals, or who received abilities or were physically changed the night the S.T.A.R. Labs accelerator exploded – those called 'metahumans', a label which is slowly catching on – also find themselves painting the Flash with the same uncertain brush. 

For the criminals, the 'why' is fairly obvious, but for those metahumans, it's more because he may keep their city safe, but he spends so much time fighting metahumans, too much of the public has started to see the division as some variation on 'normal humans and the Flash against metahumans'. Which, in fairness to the Flash, isn't his fault. But he also hasn't gone out of his way to help any of the other metahumans of the city, not like Captain Cold has. Not like Barry Allen, a scrawny man with a wide smile who spends his days hidden away in a lab at the CCPD and his nights arguing about movie choices with the group of metahumans living in the building he built for them. 

So it is, perhaps, no surprise that the announcement of Flash Day is met with complicated emotions in the neighborhood. 

"Are you going to Flash Day?" Jackie Jones asks over one of the rare lunches that Barry attends. 

Barry would have become the center of attention, if Mick Rory, better known as Heatwave, hadn't broken out into loud laughter. 

"I have to work," Barry says after throwing Mick a glare. "Unfortunately, lab work can't wait for the Flash." 

"If only he could run your samples for you," Lisa Snart, who manages the metahuman center for Barry, says with a sharp little smile. 

A number of the metahumans in the room start to think they might be missing something. 

"Some tests," Barry says in a flat tone, "can't be sped up by any means, let alone the Flash's speed." Then he looks down the length of the table, which had got more and more crowded as more people started to believe there really was a safe place they could go if they needed it. That there are people in Central City who will accept them, no matter how they look or what they can do. And that, if they're willing to play lab rat a little bit, there are a few scientists who honestly want to help them learn how to use and control their abilities. 

"Who here actually wants to go to the Flash Day event?" Barry asks. 

There's a moment of silence, which Mick breaks by raising his hand and saying, "Puttin' in a vote fer Snart. Cold," he adds, as if they aren't all aware that he's talking about Lisa's elder brother, Len, better known as Captain Cold. (Who has a bad habit of sneaking in some back door no one else can seem to find at odd hours, and vanishing just as sneakily. He never stays for meals, and only comes for movies when Barry drags him, but they all know he'll be there in a heartbeat if they need him, and it's his law that keeps them safe when they walk through the neighborhood.) 

Barry sighs and shakes his head. "Remind me to 'misplace' his gun the night before." 

They all laugh at that, because they're all betting Len only wants to go to cause a scene. 

"Think he jest wants a snow cone," Mick says in that even, unassuming tone that tends to leave people wondering if he's pulling your leg or not. 

Barry rolls his eyes and asks the rest of them, "Who's getting dragged to the celebrations by someone else?" 

Jackie and her twin sister, Jessie, both raise their hands, because both of their dads are determined to go, even if they won't go near each other. The Baker cousins – Emma, Gav, Will, and Mason – also raise their hands, because their moms/aunts had somehow wrangled time off just so the whole family could go. Damini Sah, after a moment, sort of half-way raises her hand, explaining, "Ankur really wants to go, but Baba and Kumar both have to work, and Mama keeps putting him off, so I'll probably end up taking him." 

Barry nods. "Well, I'm sure it will surprise no one that Iris will be going." 

They all laugh at that, because Iris West, Barry's best friend and foster sister, has made no secret of the fact that she adores the Flash. To the point that some of the more adolescent-minded among them will make kissy noises when she starts talking about him (which she usually responds to by throwing pillows or popcorn), or joke to her boyfriend, Eddie Thawne, that he has competition. (Strangely, every time someone does so, he starts laughing and refuses to explain why.) 

"And Eddie will be there as part of the police." A couple of them make faces, but Barry shakes his head and says, "No, come on. That's _good_ for you. If any of you run into trouble, try to find him, or name-drop him to another cop and they'll get him. Or you can ask for Joe West, who I know none of you have really met, but he knows about you and he'll have your side." 

"Are the Steins going?" Son Burns asks; he was one of the first metahumans Barry dragged to the center, as he'd been living in the neighborhood after escaping a bad situation in foster care, and while he had no interest in finding a new family, he'd connected with Dr Martin Stein over a love of physics and the two could spend hours debating science terms that went over the heads of most everyone else in the building. 

"Pretty sure, yeah. Assuming Kerry can handle the crowds." 

"Sparky's goin'?" Mick asks, straightening and zeroing in on Barry, because he adores the Steins' adopted son, Kerry. 

Barry points a firm finger at him. " _No_. You are on 'keep Len away from the celebration' duty." 

Mick makes a show of considering that. "They bringin' Sparky by after?" 

"They are _now_ ," Jessie says and most everyone snickers. 

Barry rolls his eyes. "I'll talk to Clarissa." 

"Is Dr Snow going?" Izzy Vang asks; coming to the center and meeting Caitlin Snow, their unofficial doctor, had resulted in her finally getting the drug regimen she needed to manage her leprosy without depending on her healing ability to fix whatever damage she did to herself without realizing. 

"Or Cisco?" Liu Fang – who had been struggling with keeping her body in a solid state, rather than the mist state the explosion had given her, until Cisco designed a bracelet to stabilize her – adds. 

Barry laughs. "Let's just assume everyone but me's going," he suggests. 

"Well, you, me, and certain criminals," Lisa points out. 

Barry makes a 'yes, _that_ ' motion towards her, and the smile she turns on him looks a little violent. He just flashes her a cheerful smile in return, because – as he has proven on many, _many_ occasions – he's not afraid of either of the Snarts. (Which is still impressive to those in the center, even though they all know he's dating Len. Because, honestly? When they want to be, the Snart siblings are _terrifying_. Especially Len when he's gone all Captain Cold. It's really no wonder the Families don't want to start a territory war with him.) 

The topic somehow morphs into a list of all the places 'certain criminals' should not be allowed unsupervised, which gets them through the rest of lunch without any further mention of the Flash Day celebration. 

On the actual day of the event, Izzy is the one who talks Lisa into driving her, Son, and Angel to the park where it's being held, promising they'll catch a ride back to the center with Iris or the Steins when it's over. They end up meeting Iris, Caitlin, and Ronnie not far from where Lisa dropped them, because she'd clearly rang them in advance. Ronnie leads Son away with a laugh to find Dr Stein, when he asks, while Izzy and Angel stick with Caitlin and Iris, who kindly buy them sweets when they come across a stand selling them. 

Jackie and Jessie end up joining them quickly enough, Jessie muttering about their dads being idiots, while Jackie just looks tired and accepts a hug from Iris without a word. 

They meet up with Clarissa, Martin, and Kerry Stein, Ronnie, Son, and the four Baker kids in front of the stage, and Damini joins them just as the mayor is walking towards the podium, her little brother, Ankur, trailing her with a scowl, because the last place he wants to be is with his sister and her weird friends. 

When the Flash arrives in a blur of red, trailing yellow lightning, the crowd cheers around them. Of their group, Iris is the only one who adds to the noise, but the other adults are all smiling up at the Flash like he means something. 

(Well, in many ways, he _does_. Those ways just aren't always _good_ , especially when you're a metahuman.) 

Flash accepts the key to the city and tries to bow out of saying a few words, but then Iris calls, "Come on, _Flash_!" like a challenge. 

His face is blurred, but the way he turns in her direction and just stares for a long moment makes it pretty clear how he feels about being called out. Still, he _does_ step up to the microphone. "Hello, Central City," he says, and the way his vibrating voice transmits through the speakers is...not particularly great. Which he clearly knows, because he's silent for a moment – probably staring at Iris again, though it's hard to tell for certain – but he doesn't stop vibrating his his voice when he continues, "Thank you for your support this past year. I hope we can continue to make our city a better place together for a long time to come." 

Before he can step back, someone near the back of the crowd yells, "Fat chance!" right before there comes the sound of a gun being fired. 

If the crowd hadn't panicked, things probably would have turned out just fine, because the Flash is already moving before the first shot – he'd clearly seen the gun from the podium. But the crowd does panic and start shoving at each other, trying to get away from the gunman. 

In the chaos, the group of metahumans and their adult minders get separated, pulled in five different directions. Which they would have managed just fine, except Kerry gets spooked by all of the noise, and little flames appear in his hands, while Angel has to pick between his jacket and grabbing Emma's arm before he gets completely separated, and ends up losing both. 

"Metahuman!" someone near Angel shouts, while someone near Kerry – who Clarissa quickly hands over to Izzy, as she'll heal from any unintentional burns quickly enough that Kerry won't see the proof of his loss of control and really freak out – shouts, "It's going to burn us all!" 

"He's just scared!" Clarissa tries to explain, while Izzy twists, shielding Kerry as best she can with her own body, and Jackie, who had been clinging to Izzy's jacket to keep from getting separated, looks around for something within range of her telekinesis, in case they need a weapon. 

Angel ends up huddling alone in the center of a circle of angry faces, while Emma and Jessie, who are the closest to him, try to shove their ways back to his side, calling for everyone to leave him alone. 

"Stop!" the Flash shouts. "They're just _kids_!"

Angel squeezes his eyes shut and braces himself for the blows he knows are coming. 

Except, the blows never come. Instead, arms wrap tight around him in a way that's familiar, and someone else takes the punches aimed at him. 

" _Barry_ ," Angel breathes in recognition as the Flash twists to glare at the men who are already stumbling back after their hits connected with the superhero. 

On the other side of the crowd, Eddie Thawne and Joe West have reached the three women and Kerry, and they're using their authority as members of the CCPD to get the hostile members of the crowd to back off. 

" _Shame_ on you," the Flash says to the crowd around him and Angel, still vibrating his voice. And the crowd has gone quiet and still enough that his voice carries without him needing to use the microphone. "You're all so blinded by your hatred of those of us who were changed by the particle accelerator, you'd attack a couple of _children_."

"But they–" someone in the crowd starts, evidentially boldened by being out of the Flash's direct line of sight. 

"They _what_?" the Flash snarls, blurred face turning in the direction of the speaker. He doesn't move from where he's holding Angel against his side, like he thinks he's the only thing keeping Angel safe. 

(He probably is.) 

"They wanted to have some cotton candy? Maybe play a couple of carnival games? Or, _god forbid_ , maybe they just wanted to come out and cheer on the only person like them this city doesn't hate?" the Flash demands. And he is every inch the man who stood up to a cop for Angel, stepped between Damini and a gun, and threw bits of brick at members of the mob for Jackie. 

There's a rush of fire above Barry and Angel, and the crowd stumbles back as Firestorm settles lightly to the ground next to them. "Want to go for a ride, Angel?" he asks with Ronnie's familiar crooked smile, just barely visible through the flames dancing around his head. 

The Flash gives him a gentle push forwards, and it's only because he trusts both Barry and Ronnie that Angel climbs onto Firestorm's back when he turns it towards him, the intention clear. The fire around Firestorm's head doesn't burn him, and Angel can't quite hold back a delighted yell when they fly off to safety, because he may have wings, but he knows they'll never support him in flight. 

They trickle into the center in threes and fours, Angel and Firestorm first. (Which, _holy wow_ , it isn't just Ronnie, it's _Dr Stein_ , too.) Clarissa, Jackie, Kerry, and Izzy had been escorted out of the park by the two cops, both of whom had remained behind to make sure the others made it out safely and the four of them come in together. Gav, Will, and Mason all come in with Iris. And when Emma – who rode with Caitlin and Jessie – makes a beeline for her cousins and brother to check all of them over, they bitch at her in that familiar, safe way that families who've made it through a trial safely often do. 

Somehow, there's plenty of time for the whole story to get told, despite interruptions and attempts to talk over each other, before Barry finally gets in with Eddie and Cisco. Barry's hunched over slightly and won't meet anyone's eyes, instead making a beeline for where Len and Mick have been standing against the wall for the whole messy story, their faces blank masks that give away none of their thoughts. 

Just before Barry reaches Len, Jackie realizes, "The Flash is sleeping with Captain Cold?!" 

"Oh my god, Jack," Jessie complains, hiding her face in her hands. (As if she doesn't regularly do things that embarrass her twin.) 

" _Technically_ –" Iris starts. 

Barry's across the room, both hands covering her mouth, before she can get another syllable out. Which, well, it's the first time any of the metahumans – save Dr Stein and Ronnie – have seen him move so fast, and they all just sort of stare for a long, silent minute as they process it. And then: 

"So _cool_!"

"Why didn't you just _tell us_?"

"I can't believe I know the _Flash_!"

"Do it again!" 

Barry's laughter sounds startled, and the look on his face, when he looks around at them all, tells them clearer than words that he's been afraid of their reactions. Because the Flash has never been _their_ hero. He's just been that guy who runs around and punches thieves in back alleys, or trades bad puns with Captain Cold while dodging blasts from the cold and heat guns. He's been the metahuman who everyone accepts, but who never lifts a finger to help other metahumans. 

Little did any of them know, the Flash has been helping them the whole time. 

Iris waits until Barry is trapped on the bottom of a cuddle pile-on before she announces, "The Flash is sleeping with Captain Cold _and_ Heatwave." 

" _Iris_!" Barry howls, while Lisa starts cackling from where she's stepped over to link arms with Iris. 

Barry, incidentally, doesn't get free of the cuddle pile until long after he's stopped making threatening motions towards Iris and Lisa. Because every one of the metahumans he's helped know him well enough to catch the tremor in his voice and know he needs the hug. And, after everything he's done for them, who are they to deny him something so simple?

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I make no promises about when the next part of this series (almost certain to be Singh's PoV story) will be out, because I got distracted by watching CSI for some ideas, and then by working on some stuff for FlashWave Week. Whoops?


End file.
